“They didn’t know you were here?”
Abigail shook her head and shrugged. “No. I. . .just needed a change, and I. . .haven’t felt the need to let them know where I am. I’m not sure what that says about our friendship.”
Marcus didn’t comment as they reached her room and he checked things out for her. She was relieved that he didn’t ask any questions, although she wasn’t sure what he was thinking about her. Although, that did bother Abigail, she’d been honest, and she was glad about that.
He handed the key to her and looked into her eyes. “I enjoyed being with you tonight. Your friends might take some getting used to, but I’ll accompany you anywhere you want to go with them—and I would even if I weren’t keeping you safe.”
For some reason, his words made her feel like crying, and she wasn’t sure why.
Nine
Marcus wasn’t impressed with Abigail’s friends. Not at all. He especially didn’t like the way Robert Ackerman watched her. The man had come looking for her; Marcus was sure of it. He’d been in this business too long not to put a few things together. Most likely, Ackerman had found out where she was and then convinced his friends to come with him so it wouldn’t look as though he’d sought her out. The other option was that one of the other friends found out where she was and convinced everyone else to make the trip, and Ackerman invited himself along. Either way, the man was here to pursue Abigail. There was no doubt in Marcus’s mind about that. The only thing he wasn’t totally sure about was how Abigail felt about it. Oh, he had a feeling she hadn’t been very happy to see them all today, but he wasn’t sure how she would feel about it in the coming days.
On Saturday, she asked him to accompany her out to dinner with the group and give them a tour of the town so that they would know where they wanted to go. Marcus would have thought that the men had an idea from being out and about the night before, but he was more than glad to be with Abigail for any reason.
During dinner in the hotel, Marcus was less impressed than ever by the people Abigail called friends. The young woman called Rebecca seemed to want to rub salt into Abigail’s wounds over her broken engagement—the one Abigail still hadn’t told him about.
“Nate and Natalie look quite happy these days,” Rebecca said over dinner. “Life with Meagan must agree with them.”
Marcus heard Abigail’s sharp intake of breath, and even Jillian recognized the insult. “Rebecca!”
Rebecca immediately put her hand over her mouth and said, “I’m so sorry, Abigail. I didn’t mean to bring up a sore subject.” But the look in her eyes said anything but that she was sorry.
“I’m glad to hear that they are all happy,” Abigail said.
There was a sincerity in her voice that Marcus hadn’t heard from Rebecca. Abigail may have been hurt by the other woman’s words, but she seemed to truly be happy for her ex-fiancé.
“That is kind of you, Abigail, after all the hurt you’ve been through.”
“I’m doing fine, Jillian. Thank you.” Her smile was genuine, and her friend seemed quite surprised. Then their attention turned to Marcus, and he could tell they were wondering what kind of relationship he and Abigail had. Well, there was no way he was going to tell them her father had hired him to look after her. No way at all.
“I’m so glad to hear that you aren’t pining after Nate,” Robert said, leaning toward Abigail. “You deserve someone much better than Nate Brooks.”
Marcus didn’t like the gleam in the other man’s eyes. He was more certain than ever that Robert would be pursuing Abigail in earnest. He hoped she could see through him, but he wasn’t sure. He’d seen her when she first arrived, and whatever had happened back in Eureka Springs had saddened her deeply. He could only hope that she wasn’t so vulnerable as to still be flattered by Robert’s attentions.
Deep down, he knew that was as much for his sake as hers. The thought of her caring about another man wasn’t one he wanted to dwell on. Not for even a minute.
❧
Abigail’s heart had stopped when Rebecca brought up Nate and Meagan and her broken engagement. She’d quickly looked to see Marcus’s reaction to the words, but his expression didn’t tell her a thing. He was still unreadable as they returned after the ride around town. He excused himself to talk to Ross, who was on duty. “I’ll be right back.”
Abigail nodded and turned to the rest of the group. “Won’t you all come to church with me in the morning?”
“What time is it?” Jillian asked.
“We’d need to leave here at nine.”
“Nine! Oh my. I’m not sure I can make that, dear Abigail. That is a little early for me.”
“For me, too,” Rebecca said.
“Oh, don’t count on us either.” Edward took it on himself to answer for the three men.
“Well, should you change your mind, just meet me here in the lobby.”
Jillian giggled and shook her head. “All right. But don’t count on it.”
Reginald and Edward escorted them up to their rooms, telling Robert that they would be back down shortly.
“Good night,” Abigail called to them all before she went to the desk to check for mail, only to be a little disappointed that there was nothing from home.
“May I see you to your room, Abigail?” Robert sidled up to her and asked.
“No, thank you, Robert. You have a good evening.” Abigail realized that at one time she might have been flattered by his attentions, but she didn’t want Robert Ackerman to escort her anywhere now. She’d let him take her to the Crescent Grand Opening only because Nate had asked Meagan to go, but that had been out of sheer desperation. Now she felt bad that she’d used him that way, but there was just something about the man that she didn’t trust. She was very relieved when Marcus came up to her and took hold of her elbow.
“I’ll see Abigail to her room. Good night, Ackerman.”
The other man didn’t bother to answer—nodding, instead. But Abigail didn’t like the look in his eyes. It gave her the shivers.
While she and Marcus climbed the stairs and he saw her to her room, she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in his mind. She wanted to address the fact that she’d been engaged, in case it was brought up again. Her friends might say they didn’t know she was here, but she just couldn’t believe them. And it was doubtful that Jillian or Rebecca would not bring up the subject of her broken engagement again.
But she didn’t have to bring it up. Marcus did it for her. He handed her back her key after checking out everything in her room and looked down at her. “Your tea got here before you.”
“Good. I can use a cup.”
“I’m sorry your friends reminded you of a hurtful time.”
“I assume you mean my broken engagement. . .as they were so eager to talk about.”
“It can’t be easy to have it brought up in the way they did. Are you sure they are your friends?”
Abigail couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’ve been wondering the same thing. But it is all right. I am truly glad that Nate and Meagan are happy. They were meant for each other.”
“Well, if you are all right with it. . .I just don’t like to see others purposefully set out to hurt another.”
Abigail caught her breath, for she couldn’t deny that she’d done exactly that to Meagan on occasion. She sent up a silent thank-You that the Lord had forgiven her for it, and she still prayed that Meagan would. But how could she judge her friends for something she’d been all too guilty of in the not–so-distant past?
“I’m hoping it wasn’t done purposefully.”
“Well, they are your friends, and you know them better than I do,” Marcus said. “I am glad for your sake that it didn’t hurt as much as it seemed intended to do.”
“Thank you, Marcus.”
“Will you be attending church tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up at nine.”
“See you then.” Abigail backed into her
room.
Before pulling the door shut, Marcus said, “Enjoy your tea. And lock the door.”
She turned the key and heard him say, “Good night.”
“Good night, Marcus.” Abigail leaned against the door for a moment before crossing the room to pour her tea. Then she went to the window and pulled the drape slightly open, barely enough for her to see out. It had become a sort of game to watch for Marcus leaving the hotel at night. Tonight he was just coming out from under the portico—much sooner than usual. She supposed it was because he’d talked to his agent before seeing her to her room. She waited until he looked up toward her window and then turned to walk down the street.
She let the curtain down and took a sip of her tea. She’d come to depend on Marcus more with each passing day—and probably more than was good for her. But she was so glad that he was there with her the last few days, even knowing that he didn’t approve of her old friends. She was finding that she didn’t much approve of them either.
Her worry was that Marcus might judge her by the company she had once kept. And still was keeping by what he could see. Marcus was so unlike the men in her social circle, yet she wondered if she would have seen the difference a month or so ago. No. She wouldn’t. And suddenly, she realized why. She was the one who’d changed. Not them. She wasn’t the same Abigail she’d been when she left Eureka Springs. Part of her problem with her friends being there was that they reminded her of the woman she used to be, and that was not something she wanted to think about or go back to being. Never again.
She took another sip of tea and opened her Bible. It had become a nightly habit she didn’t want to break. And tonight, she couldn’t wait to get started. She’d just realized that the changes in her were because the Lord was working in her, and the joy she felt at that knowledge kept her reading late into the night.
❧
Marcus looked forward to driving Abigail to church. Other than when he saw her to her room the last two nights, there hadn’t been a chance for any real conversation between just the two of them. And after the dinner with her friends the night before, his opinion of them hadn’t changed from the first day. Well, perhaps it had gotten worse, but that was all. The two women could be very catty on occasion. Abigail might be trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but on more than one occasion, he’d heard them tell Abigail how sorry they were about her broken engagement. But the look in their eyes told him they really weren’t that sad, and they seemed a little disappointed that she seemed to be doing quite well. The men in the group seemed no different than a lot of the rich men who frequented Hot Springs, looking for a good time and a way to spend their money. It was all he could do to keep his mouth shut as he listened to some of the conversations going on around him.
Marcus always loved Sundays, but he was especially thankful for today, in that he would have Abigail to himself for the ride to church.
“Will your friends be coming to church later?” he asked as he helped Abigail into his buggy.
“No. They probably aren’t even up yet. They never have attended church much.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I did ask them to come today, though.”
She sounded a little defensive, and he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Abigail. I didn’t mean to sound judgmental.”
“It’s all right. They were talking about going sightseeing last night. I let them know that I’d be having Sunday dinner with friends.”
“I’m sure Mother would have been glad to have them over,” Marcus said. And she would have; of that he was positive.
“Oh, I’m certain she would have invited them. But truthfully, I could use a break from their company for a little while.”
It did his heart good to hear those words. “They do seem to be quite busy—”
“Searching.” Abigail interrupted.
“What?”
“They are all searching.”
“For what, do you think?”
“For ways to have a good time, for ways to entertain themselves, for happiness. All kinds of things. But they never seem satisfied.”
Suddenly, he felt he had a little more understanding of why, in Eureka Springs, she might not have been the woman he’d come to know. If she was spending most of her time with friends like the ones he’d met, she wasn’t keeping very good company as far as he was concerned. Not at all. It was a puzzle to him that she was even part of their social circle.
“How did you become friends with them?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Marcus wished he could take them back. The color seemed to drain from Abigail’s face, and she sighed.
“Jillian and Rebecca are friends from my school days. I can’t remember when we didn’t do things together. Reginald and Edward became part of the group later, and Robert is fairly new to the group. I’ve only known him a few years.”
“I’m sorry, Abigail. It really is none of my business. You are just so different from them. I just wondered.”
“It’s all right.”
But it wasn’t. She still looked agitated when they arrived at church. Marcus thought Abigail looked about ready to bolt out of the buggy without his help. By the time they reached the inside, though, she seemed calmer. He’d try to think before he asked another question about her friends. It was obvious to him that she wasn’t really comfortable with them being here in Hot Springs—but his questioning had made her even more uncomfortable, and his personal curiosity was no excuse. None at all.
❧
Abigail felt herself relax as she listened to the lesson and spent the afternoon with the Wellingtons. It was good to be with people who felt like family and who she knew really cared about her.
“How is your visit with your friends going, Abigail?” Mrs. Wellington asked over Sunday dinner.
“Fine. They are on the go a lot, though.”
“I suppose they want to see what our town offers compared to what they are used to at home,” Mr. Wellington suggested.
“Possibly,” Abigail said, but she really thought they just came to find out how she was dealing with the heartache of knowing Nate had married Meagan. Thankfully, she was much better than they expected. For that matter, she was much better than even she thought she’d be by now.
“Abigail asked them to come to church, but they had some sightseeing they wanted to do,” Marcus said.
“I’m sorry they didn’t join you. I would have been glad for them to join us for Sunday dinner,” Mrs. Wellington said.
Mrs. Wellington was one of the most gracious women Abigail had ever known, but she was more than a little relieved that her friends weren’t with her. She wasn’t sure what the Wellingtons would have thought of them. She didn’t think they’d be any more impressed with them than Marcus was, and she didn’t want them wondering about how they could be her friends as Marcus obviously had.
“There is a lot to see around here. Did they say where they wanted to go?” Mr. Wellington asked.
“They’d asked me about some places, and I suggested the Thousand Dripping Springs, Chalybeate Springs, and Mountain Valley Springs,” Marcus said. “But the men seemed most interested in the McComb Racetrack.”
Abigail was sure they were. And she wasn’t going to let herself feel bad that she hadn’t gone with them. Just because the old group from home was here didn’t mean she had to entertain them or miss church and being with her new friends for them. After all, she hadn’t asked them to come to Hot Springs. She would be nice to them, and she would spend some time with them. But she didn’t have to revert back to the Abigail she’d once been. And with the Lord’s help, she wouldn’t.
By the time Marcus took her home, she was feeling more like the Abigail she wanted to be. She hoped that her friends were still out or that they’d retired to their rooms. It had been a good day, and she didn’t want to run into them that evening. She was relieved that they weren’t in the hotel lobby, and even though she would have liked to have spent more time with Marcus, Abigail didn’t tarr
y downstairs for fear of running into them.
“I’m glad you were able to spend the day with us,” Marcus said after he’d checked out her room. “My parents look forward to your company.”
“It’s become one of the highlights of my week,” Abigail said. But she couldn’t bring herself to tell him that seeing him was the highlight of each day for her.
“Mine, too.” The look in Marcus’s eyes had her heart skipping a beat. . .or two. He pushed away from the door frame. “Benson will be on duty tomorrow, but if you need me, have the desk clerk telephone me. They have the number. Otherwise, I’ll be here around noon.”
“Thank you, Marcus.”
He grinned and grazed her cheek lightly with his knuckle. “You’re welcome, Abigail. Good night.”
“Good night,” she whispered back.
She hurried to the window and watched until she saw him reach the street. But this time when he looked up, it was as if he knew she was watching. . .and he gave a little wave. That man. His smile. . .his touch. Abigail drew a sharp intake of breath. Why, she was. . . She turned quickly, stopping the thought she knew was there when a knock sounded on her door. She assumed it was her tea being delivered, but she was mistaken. She swallowed the moan that begged to escape at the sight of Jillian and Rebecca.
“My, you’ve been gone a long time,” Jillian said, sweeping into the room.
“I spent the day with the Wellingtons.”
“Oh? With Marcus or his parents?” Rebecca asked, taking a seat on the settee.
“With all of them.”
“Then he really is a family friend?”
“Yes, he really is.” She knew he was her father’s friend, and she felt he was hers as well.
“Hmm. How close a family friend?”
“I don’t see how that is any of your business, Jillian,” Abigail said.
“Well, Robert has been wondering and wanted us to ask.”
“It certainly isn’t any of Robert’s business.”
“Abby, what is wrong with you?” Rebecca asked. “You’ve changed.”
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